I had trouble finding witches to interview for my Grimoire project and so instead, I decided to write a poem. My reasoning for this is as follows. 1, because I found the idea of a traditional documentary rather uncreative and boring for the subject at hand. 2, Creative rhyme is a quality prominent in most spoken incantations and would fit the theme perfectly. And 3, I was feeling extra creative one night. Here is the poem I wrote up as follows:

What is witchcraft other than fiction?

I have the answer if you care to listen.

Some may say devil worship, some say it’s evil,

some even think these beliefs are no more than medieval.

But these people don’t know what us witches do,

and if you’re open-minded, you may too.

For thousands of years, magick brought hope

to America, Africa, Europe, round the globe.

But with the spread of new religions, the craft was shunned.

Magick users were tortured, drowned, and hung.

And so this practice was hidden away

until it was rediscovered and brought back to present day.

So what do we practice and where?

And how many of us are there?

These questions will be answered in due time.

But first, I must address a pet peeve of mine.

For some, “DO YOU SACRIFICE BABIES?” they will cry,

but most of us wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Most witches work with white magick, some are more grey,

but we don’t condone back magick, anyway.

In fact nowadays, many live meat-free.

So in many ways, these people are more violent than me.

Contrary to belief, witches don’t fly on brooms, boil frogs in cauldrons,

or wear the silly costumes.

We worship nature and honour the dead.

We collect crystals, herbs, and other charms instead.

We create remedies, write spells, and so much more.

We live the natural life. What isn’t to adore?

Some work their magick in forests, under moonlight, and in groups,

But others work alone from the comfort of their rooms.

There are kitchen witches, green witches, sea witches or

there are eclectic witches, cosmic witches, divination witches, and more.

I could talk about what witches do all day and night

but I think you’d rather know how many there are first, right?

Unfortunately, the number is rather difficult to say

for most would rather practice out of public eye’s way.

And there are still many taboos around witchcraft today.

For some, practicing is life-threatening in countries further away…

But one thing is for certain, without a doubt,

witches are always nearby so keep an eye out

for those adorned with crystal jewelry and flower headbands,

carrying herbs in their pockets, and painting symbols on their hands.

Now if you meet a witch, give them a “Blessed Be” and a smile

and maybe they’ll return a blessing that protects you for a while.

This poem will be read out loud and used as the alternative background noise to my documentary. I’ve included references to the research I did into the poem to keep it factually correct and interesting.

As part of my research, I want to find fellow witches in my uni class and ask them questions regarding their craft of which the answers could provide fuel for my research body and project.

1) When and how did you start practicing?

Ben Martin: “When I was around 14-15. (I am 20 now). I just started with meditation and collecting crystals and got more interested in looking after the environment. Then from there I got more into the spirituality and witchcraft side of things. I didn’t do spell work until I was around 17 and had done enough research for what I wanted to do.”

2)How would you describe your craft?

Ben: “I would maybe call it casual/ everyday witchcraft. I mostly do small things everyday like carry the right herbs/crystals on me, doing small rituals and the occasional spell.”

3)What do you primarily work with? (Weather, plants, herbs, crystals, candles, etc)

Ben: “I have always used crystals a lot. I used to do alot of spells that used fire. But In the last few years It’s been mostly.”

4)What are your beliefs? (Theisticly, spiritually, theoretically)

Ben: “I don’t really know how I would describe it. I don’t work with any deities. But I think that putting positive energy out is important and can be returned to you. So I try to treat people and my environment with kindness.”

5)do you use a Grimoire/Book of shadows? (And do you have any photos you’d be comfortable sharing? These will not be used in my art, just as part of the research body)

Ben: “do!! I’ll try to attach some pictures. I’ve had it since I was about 15 and I use it to write new spells+sigils and keep track of Important readings.”

After this interview, I wasn’t able to find any other witches at my university which is disappointing because it means I’ll need to find an alternative way of demonstrating the witchcraft community in audio form.

Proposal

So far this year, we have explored various methods and processes of visual communication. For me, the most intriguing so far have been the printing workshops, ink painting, photography and photoshop experiments, and some of my own personal exploration with intuitive image making. For a large part of this course, my focus has leaned towards the natural world and its related spiritual themes like in my Flora, Fauna, and Spirituality project. I would love to further expand on these themes because I feel as though this project only showed the tip of a much larger iceberg in terms of occult practices.

⬆️witchesofinsta.com, page from “The Secret Grimoire of Plant and Crystal Magick”. Witches often work heavily with nature and natural resources.

“Grimoire” will be the title of this self directed project and it will focus on the practices of modern-day witches in journalised form, including the recording of written spells, their recipes, and other knowledge associated with the occult.

⬆️A grimoire page from a witch on Tumblr. Grimoires are often well-decorated with lots of beautiful imagery, mainly because most witches are artists.

A heavy majority of my research will be sourced from non fiction books on the history of witchcraft and spellbooks for those who practice it. A smaller portion of this research will come from first hand practice of the spells and rituals I find/create. A lot of this information will be recorded in my personal grimoire and on my blog.

⬆️Someone’s self reflective palm reading documented in a grimoire. Modern day witchcraft is eclectic and individual. Most crafts utilise occultic practices from earlier traditions, cultures, and groups. One of the most prominent is that of the pagans.

From my previous projects, I wish to reutilise my intuitive drawing techniques and ink painting especially since ink has correlations to recording information and the intuitive technique I use has direct links to occult practices. I would like to experiment with how ink interacts with different papers and how I can utilise grimoire pages into detailed collages.

⬆️ A social media post to inspire people’s grimoire documentation. Some grimoires are made digitally nowadays as they’re more convenient but others find traditional methods more authentic and powerful.

My target demographics are polar opposites. On one hand, this project will be a love letter to the craft and its community and on the other hand, I wish to reveal the true beauty of the witching world to those who find it dark and taboo.

By the end of this project, I want my work to present the witchcraft as an open book with no sinister secrets to hide and exposed in it’s full magnificence.